Tuba

Tuba (1810-1887) was a Hopi leader who was the headman of the village of Moenkopi in the late 19th century. He later converted to Mormonism, and Tuba City is named for him.

Biography
Woo Pah was born in Oraibi, Arizona in 1810, a member of the Hopi people. His brother was killed while attempting to prevent a Mexican Army soldier from taking a Hopi girl captive in 1846 during the Mexican-American War, and Woo Pah killed the same Mexican soldier with a spear. He later dissented from his tribe and left to find peace, becoming known as "Tuba" (meaning "outcast" in Hopi). He settled at Moenkopi, 50 miles west of Oraibi, and he was joined by his wife, members of the Short Corn Clan, and members of other clans until a sizeable community was created. In 1860, he met with two Mormon missionaries at Oraibi and convinced them to come to Moenkopi, and Tuba spent a year (1870-71) in the company of the Mormons in Utah in the north, meeting Brigham Young. In 1873, he invited the Mormons to settle in Moenkopi, and they created a permanent presence in 1875. In 1876, Tuba was given a Mormon baptism, and, in 1878, he helped to plan the construction of a new Mormon town which would come to be known as "Tuba City". Tuba died in 1887.